West Philadelphia : Development News

Composting in University City is catching on. In just a couple weeks, the University City District (UCD) will be opening The Dirt Factory composting facility at 43rd and Market, a partnership between UCD and the Pedal Coop, a bicycle-powered disposal service that serves West (like Plotland at 44th and Locust) and South Philly (like Mercy Edible Park) and Center City.

The Dirt Factory represents the most permanent composting facility the Pedal Coop’s ever had, according to Seth Budick, the manager of policy and research at UCD, who says the cooperative is currently forced to compost at community gardens and other short-lived sites, which quickly hit capacity, forcing the disposers to find other sites. The facility will also have limited hours when other University City residents can use it.

"Our hope is that this facility will have sufficient capacity to allow (Pedal Coop) to expand their collection, increasing the number of residents and businesses that are able to compost," says Budick. This will enable Pedal Coop to handle large university functions at UPenn, Drexel, USciences, and other institutions.

West Philly businesses seem excited about the large-scale local composting option, whether or not they contract to the Pedal Coop. Budick says that Pedal Coop clients Metropolitan and Four Worlds Bakeries, both of which serve bread in West Philly, are especially thrilled about The Dirt Factory. Along with that, he adds that an increasing number of local businesses, affiliated and unaffiliated with the Coop, are asking how they can compost at 43rd and Market. 

The Dirt Factory will also have limited hours when University City businesses, non-profits, and residents can compost.

"We hope to begin by opening the site once a week for drop-offs of small quantities of compostables," says Budick. Eventually, the space could open to the public more if the need exists.

The UCD is also planning compost, food, and sustainability workshops for the summer months to be held on-site, says Budick, who promises more details will be announced soon.  Also, the site will have smaller composting classrooms where members of the community can learn techniques for composting at home. Additionally, the Walnut Hill Farm recently planted fruits and vegetables at The Factory using neighborhood compost. 

Other partners in the composting effort include the owners of the property at 4308 Market St. who offered up the parcel, and the University of Pennsylvania, which sold its used "Earth Tub" composting machines at a greatly reduced rate. The public grand opening for the Dirt Factory will be on June 20, and will feature complimentary refreshments by Four Worlds, Little Baby’s Ice Cream, and Dock St. Brewing Company.  

Source: Seth Budick, University City District
Writer: Andy Sharpe

One might not expect to hear the U.S. Forest Service and Philadelphia mentioned in the same sentence. Yet, the federal agency has recently taken an interest in studying the city’s tree life, and is working with the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) and the Department of Parks and Recreation. Researchers have begun examining trees all across the city, in neighborhoods and in Fairmount and Pennypack Parks, and expect to work through the summer. This is all part of the agency’s new Philadelphia Field Station. 

Specifically, the agency is looking to gather data on the condition, size, and variation of local trees. This will enable the Forestry Service to generate hypotheses on the sustainable benefits of trees.

“We will be defining extent and dollar value for energy conservation, reducing air pollution, and greenhouse gas reduction,” says Phil Rodbell, a member of the Forest Service’s Urban and Community Forestry unit. Also, the study will analyze local trees’ susceptibility to pest threats and climate change. 

The Forest Service has identified over 400 tree sites scattered throughout the city, 40% of which are in city parks, says Rodbell. “We are in the field now,” says Rodbell, adding that his crew began doing research on 60 such sites last week. PHS has recruited interns for the study, and is housing the federal agency. The partnership between the national and the local was solidified at PHS’ Flower Show last year, when the head of the Forestry Service formally announced his commitment to local trees.

Philly’s Parks and Recreation and Water Departments are also involved. Parks and Rec is educating interns about invasive vines, shrubs, and plants, while the Water Department has handed over home addresses of Philadelphians whose trees get selected for study. Before the Forestry Service can study private trees, they have to obtain permission. 

The Forest Service has started a similar initiative in New Castle County, Delaware, working with the Delaware Center for Horticulture, New Castle County, and PHS, as part of the Plant One Million effort. The Forestry Service’s attention to Philadelphia and Delaware falls under its Northern Research Station, which is based in Newtown Square and covers 20 states in the Northeast and Midwest. 

Source: Phil Rodbell, U.S. Forestry Service
Writer: Andy Sharpe  

Given elementary schools are where we send our children to begin their learning career, it makes sense that these schools should be places that cultivate environmental sustainability. Yet, with Philadelphia children being bullied by a large education budget deficit every year, sustainability isn't often a priority. With this in mind, four teams presented their plans to sustainably transform West Philly’s Lea Elementary and Germantown’s Kelly Elementary at last week’s design charrette held by the Community Design Collaborative.

The first two plans examine ways to transform Lea School, which is a K-8 school at 47th and Locust Sts. in the Walnut Hill neighborhood. The first plan strives at "establishing the schoolyard as the ‘front door’," says Maurice Jones, the president of the Lea Home and School Association, who presented on behalf of the first team. Jones says his team recommends cultivating a garden for an entrance, which would provide stormwater management through rain barrels and a rain garden. The school is already in the process of doing this, using the City's Recyclebank grant money.

The second plan for Lea addresses stormwater, learning, and traffic. This plan calls for turning the asphalt that dominates the schoolyard into a soft porous play surface, says presenter Michael Hickman, a water resources designer for Meliora Design in Phoenixville. Hickman also calls for tree trenches and cisterns to better control rainwater. To bring the educational component back into play, he also wants to create an outdoor classroom and a “secret garden,” somewhat similar to the first plan. Finally, Hickman desires curb bump-outs to calm traffic on Locust and Spruce Sts. 

The other two teams tackled ways to sustainably transform Kelly Elementary, which is a K-6 school in the much less dense neighborhood of Pulaski and Manheim in Germantown. The first plan for Kelly prescribes removing the school’s blacktop, putting in some trees, establishing some raised bed gardens, and possibly constructing a greenhouse, says presenter Dennis Barnebey, who taught in Philadelphia public schools for 32 years. Finally. Barnebey desires an outdoor classroom and rain garden, which would support woodland and other plants.

The final plan for Kelly facilitates “exposing the children with their connection to nature, says speaker Vicki Mehl, the president of the local Hansberry Garden and Nature Center. She is passionate about including different types of habitat at the elementary, such as meadow and wetland. She also proposes a “wellness trail” and an interactive sculpture. Perhaps the most interesting idea to come out of the presentation is that of a “trash-gobbling monster,” which is a trash can that would make it fun to toss out refuse.

Sources: Vicki Mehl, Dennis Barnebey, Michael Hickman, and Maurice Jones
Writer: Andy Sharpe

Sketches courtesy of the Community Design Collaborative

The Delaware Valley Green Building Council (DVGBC) recognizes the potency of the region's sustainability movement in recent years, and has come out with a challenge pledge in anticipation of the 2013 Greenbuild conference, which will be held in Philadelphia. Specifically, DVGBC is looking for local businesses non-profits, and other organizations to come up with measurable sustainable goals that can be realized by 2013. 

Even though the Council’s pledge has only been circulating for a couple of months, it has attracted the participation of a number of for-profit and non-profit companies vowing to practice even more eco-friendly development. One development firm that was early and enthusiastic in signing the pledge is Brandywine Realty Trust. The Trust has promised to have 75 Energy Star-certified buildings with 900,000 sq. ft. of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified real estate, says Heather Blakeslee, the deputy executive director of DVGBC.

Brandywine is by no means the only developer who has already made a pledge to be more sustainable through Energy Star and LEED. MaGrann Associates, which is an energy consulting and engineering company that started in Mount Laurel, has vowed to certify 1,500 LEED residences, make 5,000 additional homes Energy Star-compliant, and achieve LEED certification for commercial interiors for their Navy Yard and South Jersey offices, says Blakeslee.

DVGBC’s pledge has drawn buy-in from some small local start-ups. Two such companies are Greenable and BluPath, both of which are sustainable building and design companies. “Greenable pledges to get green building products specified and used by architects and builders in 20 new, local green building projects,” says Blakeslee. Meanwhile, BluPath has announced they will work Habitat for Humanity's local chapter to retrofit a rowhouse to the ultra-green Passive House Standard.  

The Asociacion Puertorriquenos en Marcha and the Jonathan Rose Company have jointly promised to do away with 78,840 automobile trips in a year with their Paseo Verde transit-oriented development by the Temple University Regional Rail stop, says Blakeslee. Flying Kite highlighted this development a few weeks ago. 

Also in the transportation sphere, the Valley Forge-based building materials manufacturer CertainTeed and Saint-Gobain has pledged to reduce 10,000 gallons of gas by reducing single-occupancy vehicle commutes by its employees at its Valley Forge and Blue Bell offices. 

Writer: Andy Sharpe
Source: Heather Blakeslee, DVGBC

Picture courtesy of DVGBC

When it comes to sustainable transportation around Philadelphia, pedestrians have been without an active group speaking on their behalf since PhillyWalks ended about a decade ago. While bicyclists have enjoyed advocacy from the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia and mass transit riders have been represented by the Delaware Valley Association of Rail Passengers, pedestrians have not found a similar voice recently. That is, until now. The Clean Air Council has just formed a pedestrian advocacy group, and is in the process of creating an agenda for those who travel with two feet on the pavement.

This new group, dubbed the "Pedestrian Advocacy Project," has met twice so far and has crowdsourced its agenda through the hundreds of people who are on its listserv, according to Dennis Winters, a trails associate at the Council who is leading the project. Winters says e-mail participants indicated the biggest problem facing pedestrians is that "red-green lights (are) not synced right." In other words, traffic lights around the Philadelphia area often favor motorists over pedestrians.

At the project’s second meeting, the 10 or so attendees largely agreed with the e-mail survey. They discussed intersections in Philadelphia, such as 20th and JFK Blvd., that are not as pedestrian-friendly as they believe they should be. Attendees arrived at the conclusion that pedestrian countdown signals and corresponding traffic lights should be re-timed to equalize the playing field between drivers and walkers. By the end of the evening, a committee had formed to study pedestrian countdown signals, and how they could be improved.

One prevailing question for the nascent advocacy group is whether pedestrian countdown signals themselves are to blame for diminishing the pedestrian experience, or whether bad behavior on the part of motorists is to blame. Deborah Schaaf, an employee of the City Planning Commission and a walker herself, says that police enforcement of aggressive driving had to be cut short due to lack of funds. In fact, police overtime money that was supposed to go to the "Give respect, get respect" campaign targeting vehicular, bicycle, and pedestrian infractions instead went to Occupy Philly coverage.

The Pedestrian Advocacy Project’s online members also indicated that the presence of outdoor seating and other obstructions blocking sidewalks, traffic laws not being adequately enforced, and aggressive drivers turning left were other impediments for pedestrians. Most members of the listserv attended the Academy of Natural Sciences forum "Walkability: Philadelphia Strides into the Future," which was where the pedestrian advocacy group was unveiled. Given that just about everyone in Philadelphia walks, even if it is just to get to their car or train, this group could help a lot of people.   

Writer: Andy Sharpe
Source: Dennis Winters

Greater Philadelphia is rapidly becoming more of a hub for urban farming and community-supported agriculture (CSA). Just look at the recently expanded Mariposa food co-op on Baltimore Ave., the active Kensington Community Food Co-op, and the Creekside Co-op groundbreaking in Montgomery County. Another organization that hasn’t received as much publicity is West Philadelphia’s Neighborhood Foods, which is transitioning from just an urban farm to a CSA and is teaming up with other local food venders at Rittenhouse Square.

Neighborhood Foods will be using three different sites in West Philadelphia this year to cultivate fresh food. The main site is Polselli Farm, a two-thirds acre lot at 53rd and Wyalusing at which the group has been farming snce 2010, according to Dylan Baird, the business manager. He adds that his organization annexed two smaller farm sites last year, and will be growing from them starting this year. One site is the popular Walnut Hill Farm, which thrives in the shadows of SEPTA's 46th St. El stop. 

Baird is excited to announce that his urban farm will also feature a CSA this year, which he claims is the city’s first urban farm-based CSA. Members of this CSA will enjoy locally-cultivated fruits, vegetables, and grains, with all proceeds being returned to Haddington, Walnut Hill, and other sections of West Philly. According to Baird, the CSA will run for 22 weeks from the middle of May to October, and more include very affordable prices. Neighborhood Foods is currently looking for members.  

The CSA is now working with other local food sellers at the Rittenhouse Square Farmers’ Market every Saturday. "We are broadening beyond just urban farmed produce and we will be incorporating all kinds of Philly produced products," says Baird. Some examples of this include canned goods from South Philly’s Green Aisle Grocery, bread from West Philly’s Four Worlds Bakery, and jellies from Fifth of a Farm Jams. 

Proceeds from the Rittenhouse stand enable Neighborhood Foods to continue to grow and sell fresh food at a steep discount in West Philly. "Our business model is such that we sell our food at a premium around the city so that we can subsidize the price of food at our community farmers market as well as our community programs," says Baird.  

Neighborhood Foods is a product of The Enterprise Center CDC and Urban Tree Connection, and features produce that is grown naturally and without chemicals. Baird says that the urban farm benefits from a large local population of senior citizens, who understand the value of fresh vegetables from their early years in the South. 

Writer: Andy Sharpe
Source: Dylan Baird, Neighborhood Foods

Photo courtesy Neighborhood Foods     

The Pennsylvania Convention Center Annex was filled with the redolent scents of artisanal cheese, creamy gelato, freshly-baked bread and biscotti, and premium steeped tea last Sunday. These scents formed the aromatic calling card for the Philly Farm and Food Fest, which was co-organized by Fair Food and the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA). One of the highlights of the convention was a panel discussion on the Green Space Alliance’s recent study “Transforming open space to sustainable farm enterprises.”

The panel discussion started with an outline of Green Space Alliance’s (GSA’s) findings, which include recommendations on public outreach, zoning and planning, and urban areas. One of the chief findings is that GSA should extend an arm to local governments, land trusts, and conservancies to generate knowledge about sustainable farming. Under zoning, the study concludes that specific ordinance definitions should be drafted, says Justin Keller, an architect with Simone Collins Landscape Architecture, which prepared the study for GSA. 

Finally, the study advises that incentives be created for urban farms that bolster stormwater management through the elimination of impervious surfaces. It specifically pinpoints urban farms as sources of sorely-needed nourishment in food deserts and job creators in neighborhoods with rampant unemployment. GSA found that the city of Philadelphia has nearly 2,500 acres that can be used for farming, which could yield a crop value between $6.4 and $10.8 million, says Peter Simone, also an architect with Simone Collins.

After Simone Collins presented the study, three panelists offered conference-goers some feedback. Nic Esposito, who farms at East Kensington’s Emerald St. Urban Farm, is interested in the study’s examination of municipal land, as his farm is owned by three different city agencies. While the study looks at both CSAs and farms that donate food, Esposito makes sure to mention that Emerald St. donates all the food it generates from chickens and bees. He also adds that Councilwoman Sanchez and Councilman Green’s land bank resolution in City Council would be an asset for urban farming on vacant land.

Another panelist was Joan Blaustein, chair of the Philadelphia Food Policy Council and a director in the city’s department of Parks and Recreation. Blaustein, who grows food in her own backyard garden, emphasizes the practical nature of urban gardening. Urban gardens “should satisfy the social needs of people in the city,” says Blaustein. She proceeds to give the city a pat on the back for emphasizing urban farms in its Greenworks plan and mentioning it in its new zoning code. 

The third panelist was Fred DeLong, a project director at the Willistown Conservation Trust and Rushton Farm in Chester County. DeLong differs from the other panelists in that his farm certainly isn’t urban. Nonetheless, he has a similar goal to the study and his fellow panelists. “Willistown Conservation Trust wants to connect people to the land,” says DeLong. He adds that within the trust is the Rushton Farm, which is a natural community-supported agriculture (CSA) within an 80-acre nature preserve.   

Writer: Andy Sharpe
Sources: Justin Keller, Peter Simone, Nic Esposito, Joan Blaustein, and Fred DeLong, panelists at Philly Farm and Food Fest

Illustration courtesy of Philly Farm and Food Fest   

While you wouldn’t know it from looking at Center or University Cities, Philadelphia has an enormous amount of vacant land scarring the cityscape -- some 40,000 parcels, to be exact.  The scourge of vacant land twists its way through South and Southwest Philly, flexes into West Philly, rolls into North Philly, and extends into Northeast and Northwest Philly. Given the citywide nature of the vacancy problem and its mounting costs, the Nutter administration, City Council, and the state House and Senate all seem eager to address it. In fact, Mayor Nutter appears ready to release a new plan on vacant land, while the state Senate may soon begin debate on a bill to set up land banks to deal with vacant land.

Philadelphia’s managing director is just about done with the city’s new vacant land plan, according to Rick Sauer, the executive director of the Philadelphia Association of CDCs (PACDC). The city’s upcoming proposal only deals with city-owned land (only about 25 percent of all vacant parcels), and thus does not push for a land bank for privately held vacant land. Advocates see the Nutter administration’s plan as a step in the right direction, even if it might not go as far as they would like. “The administration is trying to create a rational process for vacant land,” says Karen Black, the principal at May 8 Consulting, a firm that has worked with PACDC on vacant land issues.

The Nutter administration’s ideas come on the heels of a land bank bill written by Councilwoman Maria Quinones Sanchez and co-sponsored by Councilman Bill Green last month. Black confirms that this bill aims to consolidate ownership of vacant land into one land bank, which means it goes substantially further than the bill being drafted by the mayor’s office. She adds that City Council hearings on Sanchez and Green’s bill might kick off as soon as May.  

There is also support for dealing with vacant land at the state level, with legislation being proposed that is similar to the land bank bill in City Council. Black informs us that the state House passed a land bank bill by Philadelphia Rep. John Taylor in February. She enthusiastically points out that this bill would enable private properties to be sold directly into a land bank, without the city having to change its charter.

Meanwhile, on the state Senate side, there is also some hearty support for land bank legislation. Senator David Argall, a Republican who represents parts of Berks, Lehigh, and other counties north and west of the Philly suburbs, has introduced a bill in the Senate designed to be a companion to the bill that passed the House. Black reassures that the passage of the House bill might mean action in the Senate is imminent. 

Black and Sauer are unequivocal about the neighborhood blight caused by vacant land. “Vacant properties have a significant negative impact on property values,” laments Sauer, who conducted a study with the city Re-Development Authority (PRA) on vacant land in late 2010. Sauer elaborates that the study found a 6 to 20% loss in property values caused by the presence of nearby vacant land. He also lambastes vacant properties as havens for drug activity, arson, and illicit dumping, which entail significant quality-of-life problems. PACDC’s study found that vacant land cost the city $20 million each year in maintenance costs.  

Writer: Andy Sharpe
Sources: Karen Black, May 8 Consulting and Rick Sauer, PACDC